Pam Told Me She Lied

PAM IN A BEFORE PICTURE WITH SHASTA ON A WALK AT THE BEACH

I got a surprise last night.  Pam told me she lied about what she weighed when she began this new lifestyle.  She has truly lost 30 pounds, not 22.  That is amazing!!!  Those are the kind of lies that I consider to be OK.  She looked to me like she had lost more than 22 pounds, but who am I to question her on such a sensitive subject?  On November 24th, she will have been meat free for three months.  Her promise to me to stay on this new eating lifestyle will expire.  Pam believes that this is a lifestyle she can live with for life.  She weighs less and feels so much better.  The most she ever lost on any weight loss program was 20 pounds on Jenny Craig.  When she quit the program, the weight magically reappeared.  Now she is never hungry and eats what she wants.  I also attribute this amazing weight loss to walks with our dog Shasta about one hour, five days a week. I can hardly wait for results of her blood test when she goes to the doctor later this week.  I'm praying that her cholesterol is way down from the 250 it was before.  Pam says she is over halfway back to the weight she was when I married her in 1985.  She is such a beautiful woman.  Both inside and out.  God really blessed me.

MODELING PICTURE TAKEN IN HAWAII (1987) TWO YEARS AFTER WE WERE MARRIED 

I am now heart attack proof

Today I went in to get a blood test to see if this diet has been working.  Pam is going in for a physical on November 20th.  Well the results are in.  I may not be happy about the election, but I am certainly happy about our new lifestyle.

I began tracking my cholesterol in Nov 2000 when it was 194.  Since then, it has ranged between 182 and 233.  Just prior to August 24th when I started eating no meat, fish, milk products, eggs, or oils of any kind, my cholesterol was 203.  Just 74 days later it has dropped to a healthy 142.  That is less than the 150 that was my target.  My LDL went from 120 to 79 (It had been as high as 152 in the past).  That is less than the 80 that was my target.  My triglycerides dropped from 143 to 116.  This means, that if I can keep or improve these numbers, that I will be heart attack proof and less likely to get a lot of other diseases as well.

Our three month trial is up on November 24th, and I don't think we will ever go back to eating the way we once did.  We weigh less, we feel better, we are more alert, and in much better overall spirits.  At least it is nice to know that we have total control over one aspect of our lives.

My blood work tells me we are on the right track.  Considering this was a very easy transition to make (Except having to learn the new recipes and exercising the vigilance necessary to insure that products don't have hidden items we don't want to eat), it is only a matter of time until we achieve and maintain total health.  At 62 years old, I feel great!!!!

Election Day Blahs.

ELECTION DAY - If there ever was a day that my blood pressure would pop my eyes out, this is it.  Ok. We made history.  Can everybody quit complaining about racism now and get on with it? I saw Jesse Jackson crying.  I hope it is because he knows his race baiting gig is up and he is going to have to go out and find a real job.  

It is really time to lighten up folks.  When all those people realize that the new President isn't going to pay for their gas or make their mortgage payment for a house they couldn't afford to begin with, we are going to need all the humor we can get.  Election night we spent time with good friends.  Unfortunately, Pam and I ended up eating a small Halloween bag of peanut M&M's each and some Doritos that had oil in them.  I think we were unconsciously trying to commit suicide.  Now we don't have to.  The State of Washington will do it for us since the law passed that allows doctors to overdose someone who is dying anyway.  I guess this is one way to save on paying out social security benefits.

WASHINGTON STATE

Fun at the food co-op

Olympia Food Coop

Accepting a different way of eating has posed some interesting life changes.  Like mingling with people I would normally have nothing in common with at our local food coop. I have to admit that I enjoy it.  Kind of like going to the zoo in the 60's.  I was observing the wildlife while the wildlife was observing me.  As a Washington State Guard soldier, I attended our monthly drill yesterday at Camp Murray and was about to go to a retirement luncheon.  Pam called and told me she had been in an accident and that her car's side airbags had deployed.  I asked her if she was alright and found out that she was, but just shaken up.  She asked me to meet her at the body shop where her car was being towed.  The car was pretty messed up and close to a total loss.  On the way home, I decided to stop by the local food co-op to get a loaf of bread while still in uniform.  From that experience, I came away with a clearer understanding of what it feels like to be different and a minority.  I was observed like I was from another planet.  When I got to the counter, the girl (at least I'm pretty sure it was a girl) behind the counter just kind of wrinkled up her face at me like she had just burped up something that didn't agree with her.  Then she said sarcastically, "Are you on a mission?".  I considered admitting that I was a part of a special ops group assigned by President Bush to discreetly infiltrate America's counter culture.  My cover was to become a vegan and hang with the natives.  How on earth did the clerk blow my cover?  Instead I just told her that I was on a mission to buy a loaf of whole wheat bread and ended the conversation with "Mission accomplished. "  It was a really strange experience.  I felt it might be appropriate to burn my draft card or something.  I do have to admit it was fun.  Next time I am bored, I think I'll wear my uniform to the Farmer's Market, Evergreen State College campus, or downtown Olympia to make some new friends.  God love them all.

MOH Recipient John Hawk and CW2 Jack D. Clark at flag presentation ceremony in the Washington State Capital Building.

I have cut my blood pressure medicine back to 1/2 tablet every day and my blood pressure is still lower that it was when I was taking a complete tablet.  I am hoping to do away with the medicine completely after I get my full physical in January.  My blood pressure is 121 over 78 and my pulse is 69.  My weight went back up to 206 because I am eating too much fruit.  I need to cut it back a little on the fruit and eat more vegetables.

BENEFIT

our new lifestyle will keep this from happening

Dive, dive, the weight continues to sink

Today I weigh 205 pounds.  I can't believe that I have actually lost 20 pounds so far on this new eating plan.  Unlike Jenny Craig, NutriSystem or Weight Watchers, this is a way of life we can live with.  Everybody provides prepackaged foods that starve you until you lose some weight. Once you are no longer eating their highly processed food, the weight comes right back.  As long as we continue eating the way we do, this won't happen.

Pam has also lost 20 pounds.  That is a lot of weight for her 5'6" frame.  I put my hands around her waist and it is obviously getting much smaller.  She is now a strong supporter of this way of eating.

 

This new way of eating is changing our lives

Wow!!!!  It has been 54 days since we have eaten any meat or chocolate chip cookies.  It is amazing that we have been able to adapt our eating to a healthy diet so easily and don't really miss the food we used to eat.  Pam says that the only thing she misses once in awhile is chicken. She refuses to tell me why.

One day, she got bored and decided go out and buy three chocolate chip cookies.  She took one bite and realized that they no longer tasted as good as she remembered them.  She spit out the bite and threw all of them away.  I was really proud of her.  I believe it is a sign that old habits are hard to break, but she is recognizing that the things we used to eat don't taste as good anymore.  Once we got the oils and processed sugars out of our systems, we didn't have the cravings like we used to have that caused us to fill up on empty calories.

We eat an awful lot of beans and rice.  In fact, my feet hardly ever touch the ground anymore. 

Today I weigh 208 pounds.  Down 17 pounds from when I started on August 24th.  My pants are starting to get a little baggy.  Pam has also lost the exact same amount, 17 pounds.  We are never hungry.  We eat all we want, when we want, and weight keeps heading south.  If I wasn't living it, I wouldn't believe it.  People are telling Pam she is looking great and wondering what she is doing to lose so much weight.  When she tells them, they say that they think she is courageous for being able to modify her life like she has.  Many think it is too radical for them though.  Back before August 24th, I would have thought the same thing.  I have been told that people with Cholesterol less than 150 and an LDL of less than 80, don't have heart attacks.  That is what I am shooting for.